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Feb 12, 2023Liked by Andrew L Sullivan

The Ku Klux Klan was the militant arm of the Democratic Party. Lynchings certainly were conducted on black people who dared pursue or defend their freedom, but in general, lynchings were conducted on opponents of the Democratic Party and its goals. This included white men — many of them in Omaha as Andrew points out. Why does this plaque omit the vast majority of Omaha lynchings if not to foster racial hate?

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Notice the last line in the top plaque. It smears the whole state.

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FWIW, yes, the Klan was active in the southeastern part of Nebraska up until around the mid-20th century. They weren't, however, universally supported or encouraged.

My grandfather had things to say about this back when he was still alive. He was deeply opposed to their activities.

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See the update above with the links.

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If this was Colorado, it would be easy for us to file a lawsuit (we wouldn't even need a lawyer) to get the plaque amended to reflect historical accuracy, but--this is Nebraska--where it's next to impossible to get anywhere legally without a lawyer involved, and where, even if you do have a lawyer involved, getting anywhere is still unlikely...

Nebraska desperately needs legal reform so that we can sort some of these other issues out.

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